Vinton Public Library (Vinton, Iowa)

In rural eastern Iowa, the Vinton Public Library is committed to building more dementia-friendly communities. Located in the small town of Vinton (pop. 5,000), the library has been using an LTC grant to run a Memory Café program that seeks to provide a safe space for people living with dementia and their caregivers. “There just aren’t as many places you can go to just spend time when you’re living with dementia,” explains Kelly Henkle, the library’s director. “But the answer isn’t to stay isolated at home.” By offering a space for conversation and activities, the library aims to help these patrons gain confidence in living with dementia and increase the broader community’s awareness and knowledge of a disability that is affecting more and more people—both in Vinton and around the world.

Since its inception, the Memory Café has been an intensely collaborative endeavor. Prior to becoming the library’s director, Henkle had worked at a local hospital, where she participated in a training program led by Jessica Fairbanks of Dementia Friendly Vinton. As Fairbanks explains it, the goal of these training sessions is to give participants “a glimpse of what someone living with dementia is going through,” so that they can identify some of the disability’s signs and be better positioned to help out “when they see someone in need.” 

The library's mission "boils down to being a welcoming space for everyone in our community," says director Kelly Henkle (left).

After joining the library, Henkle’s staff also received this training, and not long after that, she received an invitation to an annual forum hosted by the Chris and Susie DeWolf Innovation Center for Aging and Dementia. While attending the forum, Henkle listened to a panel in which individuals living with dementia from the town of Hiawatha (about a forty-minute drive from Vinton) talked about the early-stage dementia support group they had created. Recalling the group’s discussion, Innovation Center co-founder and senior director Kathy Good remembers how many of those in attendance were “just in tears hearing these people talk about how important this group had become to them, because this was the first time they found a place where they could come: their experiences were being normalized.” Henkle says she was “inspired by their story”—so much so that she invited the group to make a presentation at the library. 

That presentation sparked the idea for a Memory Café. A widely used forum for combating the stigma and isolation that often accompany a diagnosis of dementia, Memory Cafés provide people living with dementia and their caregivers an avenue for continued social engagement, peer relationships, and community connection. They seek to enhance participants' health and well-being through conversation, resource sharing, activities, refreshments, and entertainment. After returning from her trip to Hiawatha, Henkle was committed to giving local individuals with dementia and their caregivers “the same opportunity to connect in a non-threatening way.” The library’s plans were built on an earlier LTC grant they used to become an affiliate of the Next Chapter Book Club, a program for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. When the opportunity to apply for a second round of LTC funding emerged, Henkle — who knows full well the challenges of operating on slim budgets — jumped at it. As library assistant Lisa Hopkins recalls, the idea for a Memory Café “aligned with much of what the library had already been doing in terms of countering isolation and loneliness” in the community. As Henkle put it, “Who better than the library to help this cause?”

Dementia friendly training is about "trying to help teach and educate those throughout our community to be a little more open-minded and aware, so that if they see someone in need, they can help assist, or find someone who's willing to assist, so that those people can still live within our community," says Jessica Fairbanks (right) of Dementia Friendly Vinton.

Feedback from local residents confirmed the need for such a program. After receiving a second round of LTC funds, Henkle and her staff hosted a community conversation (a condition of the grant) to share their ideas for the Memory Café. At first, she “wasn’t sure how much of an unmet need dementia was” in the area. But discussions revealed how urgent the need was. As Henkle recalls:

I heard from individuals who said, "Oh, you know, my mom has dementia. I think this would be really great." One person reached out immediately and said "We have been looking for a Memory Cafe in Vinton. We cannot drive out of town for this. We will be there." It was so affirming immediately to get that kind of feedback, and that gave me the confidence to use the funds for the project that I had in mind when I wrote it.

One community member who is the caregiver for a person with dementia remembers that they were “excited” and “really glad” to hear about the library’s plans. At the time, the nearest Memory Café was a thirty or forty minute drive from Vinton. “For me to go to take them to something like that in the middle of a weekday afternoon is just very challenging,” they explain. Establishing a similar program in Vinton would “give legitimacy to the need [that exists] in the community,” they added, as people living with dementia are “often invisible, if not completely ignored.”

After receiving positive input from the community, the first step in creating the Memory Café was to decide on a schedule. Through consultation with prospective participants and the group from Hiawatha, the library settled on mid-morning meetings every second and fourth Friday of the month. They also opted for an open attendance policy. “We don’t ask people whether they themselves have dementia, or if they’re a caregiver, or if they’re just more of an advocate for dementia,” Henkle explains, “because we want to make sure everybody who attends feels comfortable.” 

"I want the scent of cookies to help cognitively bring the warm, homey, comfortable associations we have with baked goods," Henkle says, speaking of the importance of the small convection oven she purchased with LTC funds.

On meeting days, the group — which typically consists of six to eight individuals — gathers in the library’s Board room. As they arrive, they are greeted by the smell of freshly brewed coffee and fresh-baked cookies, which Henkle prepares through use of a small convection oven purchased with LTC funds. Knowing how much of a struggle getting out of the bed in the morning can be, Henkle’s hope is that “knowing that Kelly’s making those cookies, all of a sudden it gets a little bit easier.” 

As they enjoy food and drink, participants typically begin each meeting by going around the table, sharing what is on their minds. “We kind of relax a little bit and talk about stuff,” a participant explains. These conversations are generally “real light,” Henkle says; usually, they continue for about twenty minutes, and engage a wide variety of topics. The goal is to get everyone “cognitively engaged to a level that’s stimulating, not stressful, and comfortable.”

In addition to conversation, Henkle also shares resources from professional manuals like the Dementia Action Alliance’s Pathways to Well-Being. The handouts she shares often serve as the basis of discussion. Participants often share “the frustrations of the day to day,” Henkle adds, and giving everyone a few minutes to “let off a little stress” is highly beneficial. According to one participant, the conversation often includes matters such as changes in memory and “how we’re dealing with family members.”

In meetings, Henkle often shares information from the Dementia Action Alliance's Pathways to Well-Being with Dementia (left).

Activities are also part of the group’s meetings. With LTC funds, the library purchased a collection of dementia-friendly activity backpacks, which include crosswords, coloring pages, puzzles, and conversation starters. These activities are based on different themes, and offer an additional opportunity for participants to “share things that are on their minds.” On occasion, the group’s meetings also include formal presentations from guest speakers. 

Importantly, the group’s meetings have a flexible structure. While Henkle brings a number of activities, resources, and conversation starters to each gathering, the library responds to the group’s in-the-moment needs. “It’s not just us leading it,” Hopkins explains. “We’re willing to hear them and change things to match what participants need.” Sometimes, Hopkins continues, “we don’t even get to the backpack,” because “what one person is saying may trigger something in someone else, and then they get this dialogue.” ”They don’t have to talk about dementia if they don’t want to,” she adds. The goal of the Memory Café is simply to “take away a few of the barriers” that often isolate people with dementia from their communities. Given this, it is important for participants to feel that their time together is “not just a dreaded appointment.” 

Memory Café participants work on a craft activity while engaging in conversation (right).

The public’s response to the Memory Café program has been wholly positive. The community “sees the urgency of being able to offer a place for people to live with dementia,” Hopkins says. Upon learning about the program, she adds, people often respond with statements like “‘Oh, it’s great to know this is being offered here in the community, because someone in my family has [dementia].” Participants “look forward to coming,”; with each passing meeting, Hopkins says, the group “feels more like a family.” Echoing this, Henkle says that over time, the group’s members “have gotten to know each other really well.” 

Part of what makes the Memory Café such a positive experience for participants is the solidarity, comfort, and confidence it imparts. Having a space for dialogue and shared activities, Henkle says, helps those living with dementia see that “you aren’t alone and that you can do a lot of things.” “I have seen people come out of their shells,” she adds, remarking on how participants’ comfort levels in “talking, sharing, and not feeling as self-conscious,” have grown over time. “And I think that gaining confidence in living with dementia goes a long way towards improving quality of life.”

One participant who has been a regular since the program started says that the Memory Café “gets me out of the house” and “gets me talking to someone else.” The group’s conversations have been helpful “specifically when it comes to dementia.” “I’m appreciative of what’s there and the resources that we’ve been able to utilize,” they add. Through participating in the program, this individual has also discovered new opportunities for community engagement — including the volunteer work they now do at the library. “I fill in the gaps wherever I can,” they share, whether it be dusting the books, cleaning the windows, vacuuming the floors, or other tasks that need to be done on site. 

Speaking more broadly about Memory Cafés, Jessica Fairbanks at Dementia Friendly Vinton explains that these programs “have a huge impact.” Being surrounded by people who are “going through similar circumstances,” Fairbanks says, brings a “feeling of community and connection” — something that “unfortunately goes by the wayside once that diagnosis happens.” “It’s this magical thing,” she adds. “Instead of having to retract and not talk about it,” when in the company of others who are living with dementia, participants can share their experiences and feelings in a space where “there’s not this judgment or awkwardness.”

At the Memory Café, people with dementia are “reminded that it’s not about the diagnosis anymore. It’s just about being present and living for where they’re at right now" - Jessica Fairbanks, Dementia Friendly Vinton

The program’s benefits extend to caregivers as well. In addition to “realizing they’re not alone,” Hopkins says, those who attend “don’t look as drained and stressed.” A caregiver who often attends with their spouse says that one of the biggest benefits of the Memory Café is “just hearing other people’s experiences.” Listening to what others are going through, they continue, helps with knowing “what to do when they’re family members who have lots of opinions about treatment or what doctors are saying.” 

Another benefit, Hopkins adds, is that when attending, caregivers can often “just sit back, and not feel like they’re having to be constantly explaining something that their loved one is saying, or apologizing.” Along with this, the Memory Café also offers periodic breaks from caregiving. On occasion, one participant notes, they drop off their spouse and take the time to run errands. “Sometimes,” they say, “I need the break more than I need to sit and chat.” 

The Memory Café is also raising awareness of dementia within the community. When she sends out the library’s newsletter and events calendar, Henkle includes information about the Memory Café. And often, she gets questions from patrons who are curious about the program. Addressing these questions, Henkle says, has provided an opportunity to inform patrons about the realities of living with dementia — for example, that “it actually does impact people younger than they might think,” or that “the majority of people living with dementia still live in their home.” “The best outcome,” Henkle says, is “the conversations and the increased awareness that has come simply by holding the café.” As time goes by, Hopkins adds, “there are more people willing to discuss [dementia].”

While proud of the Memory Café’s successes, Henkle notes that “we have room to grow.” As the program continues, she is looking to add more activities and features to it — including music therapy elements that can “trigger memories and good feelings.” At the same time, running the Memory Café has also given the library ideas about other ways to become more accessible to people with dementia. To create more environmental cues within the building, the library recently made improvements to its interior signage. 

The library is engaging in other forms of accessibility work as well. Recently, staff purchased a number of items for patrons with sensory sensitivities; in the future, Henkle hopes to pursue funding to expand on these efforts. In addition to this, the library recently received $1,000 from the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation to add to their bookmobile collection. When thinking about the Memory Café in the context of the library’s broader goal of giving people an accessible place where they “don’t have to be alone” and “can just be who they are,” Hopkins says that “I feel like we’re headed in that direction.” A participant in the Memory Café agrees. “I've just seen a lot of positive things and good programming, and it's been a really good revival for the library,” they share. 

Assessing the library’s accessibility work from afar, Fairbanks and Good also agree. At the Innovation Center, Good credits the library with “doing a great job of making things more accessible in Vinton.” Fairbanks is particularly appreciative of how the library is “thinking outside the box” to create programs for “people who maybe aren’t traditional library goers.”

“I’ve seen the library really blossom over the last couple of years,” she says, adding that “Kelly and her team…are doing a really good job of keeping the library very valuable in our community."  - Kathy Good, Chris and Susie DeWolf Innovaion for Aging and Dementia

Photographs courtesy of Afton LeFevere.